___________

Following are extracted from a report in the Pioneer.

• the State Commerce and Transport Department, in its sanction order-29753, dated May 30, 1970, had allotted 3, 793.21 acres in the first phase and 2285.23 acres in the second phase to the Paradip Port Project. Most of the lands were obtained from Sandhakuda, Bijayachandrapur, Balijhari and Bhitaragara villages, under Kujang Tehsil. According to the official sources, about 6,889 acres of land were supplied to the Paradip Port Trust.
• The State Government had provided 62.19 acres of land to the Paradeep Phosphate Ltd, which is a fertiliser plant that started its project in 1982. The PPL had acquired 405 acres of private lands from Bhitaragada village on its own.
• … in Paradeep-Cuttack railway line 137 acres of land were acquired from the Bhitaragada village.
• Kujang Tehsil had about 1,500 acres of Government land in the Musadiha area that was provided to the Oswal Fertiliser Plant in the year 1995-96. The plant had also purchased about 500 acres of private land from the local people.
• … in 2000 Indian Oil Corporation had purchased 3,300 acres of private land from the local people of 17 villages for its refinery project, which was to be set up on the outskirts of Paradip but the project is yet to come.
• for much-hyped Haridaspur-Paradip Railway Project, widening of the NH-5 and recent expansion of Cuttack-Paradip State Highway, thousands of acres of both Government and private lands have been acquired from Kujang Tehsil.
• Essar, the 6 million tonnes steel plant project, moves for the land acquisition in Paradip and the project needs about 1,950 acres of land. The State Government has already given 350 acres of land to the plant. It will procure the remaining required land from private land.
• Posco has shown a demand of about 4,004 acres of land in Dhinkia, Gadakujang and Nuagaon villages for its steel plant and port project. The State Government has given assurance and has provided Posco most of the encroached Government and forestlands. The rest of the required land would be purchased from private landowners.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Economic Times.

… According to sources, the Haryana and Orissa governments have decided to put in place a policy making it mandatory for developers to employ a member from every family in a village affected by a SEZ project.

The Cabinet, in October, approved the National Policy on Rehabilitation & Resettlement, 2007, to replace the National Policy on Resettlement & Rehabilitation for Project-Affected Families, 2003. “The policy can incorporate minor changes, if needed, for the welfare of rural folk,” an official in the rural development ministry said.

A National Rehabilitation Commission would be set up by the Centre, which will be empowered to exercise independent oversight over the rehabilitation and resettlement of affected families.

To ensure transparency, there would be a provision for mandatory dissemination of information on displacement, rehabilitation and resettlement, with names of the affected persons and details of the rehabilitation packages. Such information would also be placed in the public domain by the gram panchayats.

People would, however, be given jobs according to their qualifications. The government is of the view that salaries should at least match what an individual was earning before being displaced.

“We are also in the process of setting up a mechanism through which the affected communities would be duly informed and consulted at each stage, including public hearings in the affected areas for social impact assessment,” the official said.

Following is an excerpt from http://www.hemscott.com/news/latest-news/item.do?newsId=53878217759003. 

… India’s Supreme Court set new conditions for the project.

Vedanta’s battle to mine bauxite to feed the refinery in forests considered sacred by indigenous people has been seen as a test case in India, pitting industrial development against the interests of local inhabitants and the environment.

The Supreme Court refused to let the project in the eastern state of Orissa go ahead in its present form on the grounds that it could affect ‘sustainable development’ and asked Vedanta to come back with a new plan.

The court said Vedanta would have to give money for forest destruction, wildlife management and tribal development totalling around 180 mln usd.

Other conditions would include handing over 5 pct of pretax profits annually from its mining projects across India to the Orissa government.

Vedanta would also have to set up a ‘special purpose vehicle’ to ensure that environmental regulations were met, the court said.

Vedanta must file an interim application within eight weeks saying if it agreed to the conditions and the Supreme Court would reconsider the project, the court bench ruled.

Vedanta has been fighting for three years to obtain clearance for open cast mining of vast deposits of bauxite in the densely forested Niyamgiri hills to feed the 900 mln usd alumina refinery it has built nearby.

There was no immediate comment from Vedanta on the court ruling but it has in the past denied any wrongdoing and argued its projects would be welcomed by residents of the desperately poor region.

Following is an excerpt from Pioneer that gives the first reaction from Vedanta officials in Orissa on the supreme court judgment.

Reacting to the judgment, vice-president of Vedanta Alumina Ltd AK Samal said the Supreme Court had reiterated its emphasis on sustainable development but has no objections in principle to mining at Niyamgiri. However, the court has stipulated certain conditions to be complied by the project proponent.

He said the apex court had desired that Sterlite Industries, the flagship company of Vedanta Resources PLC in India, duly enlisted on the Indian Stock Market be a part of the Special Project Vehicle (SPV) for mining at Niyamgiri and Scheduled area development at Lajigarh, where the company’s alumina refinery is located. "We will take all steps to immediately abide by the directions and conditions set out by the SC," he said, adding that the company was still waiting for a copy of the judgment.

Samal said his company was committed to the cause of the social uplift through reasonable industrialisation.

…. Secretary of the Orissa Wildlife Society Biswajit Mohanty, who had filed the petition against the Centre’s decision to allow Vedanta to set up its aluminum refinery and undertake mining activities, said the SC had taken note of their concern. On behalf of the Lok Abhiyan, noted activist Prafulla Samantray had also filed a petition before the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) of the SC.

The social activists filed the petition alleging that if Vedanta was allowed to undertake mining activities, the whole biosphere of Niyamgiri would be affected. The two major rivers, Bansadhara and Nagabali, which originate from the hill, would disappear. Thus it would affect the whole tribal population of the southern parts of the State, they argued.

Taking note of the serious allegation, the CEC had sent a two-member expert team (SK Chadda and SC Shrama) to make a spot inquiry. The team visited Niyamgiri in December 2004. It submitted its report in January 2005. Later, the CEC started the hearing of the petitions. The CEC visited Lanjigarh, where the plant is coming up. It submitted its report to the SC in September 2005, reportedly suggesting that Vedanta should not be allowed to take up mining activities.

The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) granted environmental clearance for the project on September 22, 2004, and in its letter clearly specified that the source of bauxite for the refinery would be the Niyamgiri mine near Lanjigarh. This led to a furore among environmentalists, who argued that as it came under the Schedule V area of the Constitution, the environment clearance granted by MoEF and forest clearance should be reviewed.

Following is an excerpt from a report in tathya.in.

for Pramod Bhasin, the Capital city of Orissa is emerging as an important location for the outsourcing industry.

The President and CEO of the global leader in Business Services and Technology Solutions, Genpact has pinned high hopes on Bhubaneswar as there is strong infrastructure, good talent and tremendous government backing.

Mr.Bhasin was speaking on the occasion of ground breaking ceremony for the upcoming Special Economic Zone (SEZ) on 21 November.

Graduates having command over English have fair chance of getting into Genpact, said Mr.Bhasin.

Chief Minister Mr. Patnaik laid foundation stone for the SEZ.

Spread over 12.145 acres, the commissioning of this SEZ facility will provide 5,00,000 square feet office space to provide seat for over 4000 employees.

Following is an excerpt from a report in the Statesman.

Spread over an area of 12.145 acres, the commissioning of the SEZ facility will take place in three phases between 2009 and 2011. It will provide 5,00, 000 square feet for 4,000 employees of Genpact. The development of such facility in Bhubaneswar will make it the 7th city in operation for Genpact in India.

Genpact, which has been ranked No. 1 on the 2007 list of top 15 ITeS-BPO companies in the country by NASSCOM, has recently been rated among the top three BPO employers for 2007 in Dataquest-IDC E-Sat (Employee Satisfaction) survey.

Following is an excerpt from a report in the New Indian Express.

After successful completion of first-phase land acquisition for the SEZ, preparations are on to start the second phase. In the first phase, 250 acres, including 48 acres of government land, have been acquired.

Another 250 acres would be acquired in the second phase likely to start by this year-end. M/s Saraf Agencies Pvt ltd, a Kolkota-based firm, will set up the SEZ with Russian collaboration.

The firm has been pursuing this project for the past 10 years because of the high mineral content in beach sand along the coastline.

However, the agitation against the proposed mega steel plant by Tisco delayed the decision of the firm. The firm has also started its efforts to search partners to set up its proposed titanium dioxide plant near Orissa Sands Complex (OSCOM), a unit of Indian Rare Earths Ltd near Chatrapur.

The plant will facilitate setting up of the SEZ. The company has signed an MoU with two Russian state-run agencies for the proposed SEZ that will process titanium from ilmenite ore.

The MoU was signed during the visit of Russian president Vladimir Putin to India and the project will entail an investment of $250 million (around Rs.1200 crore).

The two Russian entities that will take part in the project are Vnesheconombank or the Bank for Foreign Economic Affairs and JSC Technochim Holding, which is a St. Petersburg-based public sector undertaking.

During recent visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Russia, the Russian premier Viktor Zubkov informed that his country is ready to actively participate in development of the SEZ as part of the efforts to boost bilateral economic ties.

While the Russian firms will have a 55 percent stake in the project, there will be financial participation from them.

They will provide the technology to process titanium from ilmenite ore. The Indian government plans to use this project to set off part of the debt in the rupee-rouble account and will, therefore, invest $125 million in the SEZ.

Saraf Agencies will pump Rs 175 crore into the project and the remaining amount will be raised as loan. The company received an in-principle approval for the SEZ on August 23 last year. The ilmenite ore will be provided by OSCOM.

Following is an excerpt from Pioneer on this.

The Forum stated that the land requirement of South-Korean steel maker Posco India Ltd has 4,004 acres, including around 3,566 acres of Government land, for their proposed 12 million ton steel plant at Paradip; based on all weather port, SEZ status as well as Finex process for production process. On the other hand, MSIL had shown a total requirement of 8,750 acres, including 4, 469.79 acres of Government land, for their 12 million ton proposed steel complex at Patna in Keonjhar district. Dastur and Co is yet to submit the post- DPR.

Former Wing Commander Kiran Sankar Behera and Sudershan Pattnaik of KCF pointed out the contrast between the land requirements shown by Essar, JSPL, Sterlite (Vedanta Group) and Uttam Galva for their proposed steel complexes at Paradip, Angul and Sadar Sub-division of Keonjhar district and that of Posco.

For instance, Uttam Galva Steel Limited (UGSL) had shown a land requirement of 2,130 acres for their 3-million-tonne projects like Vedanta, Essar and Jindal whose complexes are to come up at Keonjhar, Paradip and Angul.

Meanwhile, Chief Secretary Ajit Tripathy asked the MSIL Group to release their land requirement.

Meanwhile, unconfirmed sources informed that Dastur and Co had submitted a detailed tech-economic feasibility study, in which the exact requirements of land for steel, sponge and pig iron per metric tonne were clearly mentioned, in accordance with the standards fixed by the State Government, a few months back.

Observers maintained that in the present day production process employs high technology, mostly latest Chinese technology. For cost-effective and qualitative management, the best option is to have very less amount of land for keeping daily inventory and for waste disposal at the proposed site. This will prove time friendly for both the State and the companies.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Pioneer.

Though the State Government has not been successful so far to acquire lands for mega industries like Posco and Arcelor- Mittal, it has been able to acquire lands for the upcoming Dhamra Port. The Port will cater to demands of the industries coming up in the Kalinga Nagar area in Jajpur district.

… Revenue Minister Manmohan Samal said the Government had so far acquired 2,033.47 acres of land from three tehsils for Dhamra port. Under Chandbali tehsil, Government has acquired 954.74 acres of land. It has also acquired 564.64 acres of land in Tihiri and 517.27 acres in Bhadrak tehsil. 1,510 people have already got the compensation for giving their land for the port. Another, 683 people will get compensation.

The Port Authority has so far given Rs 56 crore to the district administration for the purpose of giving compensation against land acquisition.

Following are excerpts from a report on this in Business Standard.

National Aluminium Company (Nalco), the largest producer and exporter of aluminium in the country, plans to set up an aluminium park at Angul to boost consumption of the metal within the state.

Most of the aluminium produced by the public sector blue chip company, at present, is either exported or sold outside the state for further value addition. Out of the average 30,000 tonnes of aluminium produced per month by Nalco’s smelter at Angul, 28,000 tonnes are dispatched outside the state, with only 2,000 tonnes being consumed in the state.

The proposed aluminium park is expected to increase the metal consumption within the state to at least 20,000 tonnes per month, says CR Pradhan, chairman and managing director of Nalco.

He said both national and international aluminium players would be invited to set up downstream units in the proposed park to facilitate more metal sales within the state. Nalco has approached the Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation of Orissa (IIDCO) to acquire about 1,000 acres to be handed over to it for the purpose.

Meanwhile, Nalco’s plan to set up a second smelter plant along with a captive power plant in Orissa depends on the company being allotted additional bauxite mines and coal block for the project. …

Allaying all apprehensions regarding delay in the ongoing expansion project of Nalco, both at Angul and Damanjodi facilities, he said they would be completed within stipulated time.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Times of India.

“We have received a proposal from Navayuga group for a 12 MTPA capacity unit,” state secretary, steel and mines, U P Singh told TOI on Monday, confirming the development. Official sources disclosed that the Navayuga group is interested to set up a port-based steel facility, preferably at Astaranga in Puri district.

Chairman of Navayuga Engineering Company Limited ((NECL) C V Rao had earlier this year made a presentation before chief minister Naveen Patnaik about the groups plans to develop a port at Astaranga on a build-own-operate-share-transfer (BOOST) basis with an investment of Rs 6000 crore. But the company’s sudden keenness to make a foray into the booming steel sector, that too in a big way, has come as a surprise to many.

The group’s proposal for developing a port is in the final stages of getting approval, but the state government is yet to examine its application for setting up a mega steel plant, pointed out an official.

The land and water requirements as well as raw material linkage have to be studied. The proposal will be placed before the Single Window Clearance Authority headed by the chief secretary before a decision is taken, the official added.

The company had earlier requested the state government for 5000 acres of land for its port complex and other projects, including a 1320 (2 x 660) mega watt captive power plant, fly ash brick unit and desalinization facility.

The group had also suggested the government for construction of a 50-km railway link between Khurda Road to Astaranga via Sakhigopal at an investment of Rs 400 crore through the public-private-partnership mode, sources said.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Economic Times.

Global steel leader Arcelor-Mittal, which proposes to set up a 12 mtpa plant in Orissa, on Friday said it will harvest rain water and use technology that consumes least quantity of ‘H2O’ to reduce pressure on the natural resource.

"We are consulting international experts in the field on how to meet the challenges ahead", member of Arcelor-Mittal’s group management board Malay Mukherjee told reporters, admitting water was a major problem for industries in Orissa.

… Replying to queries, Mukherjee said the steel major was aware of the recent development where farmers in western Orissa had strongly opposed the government’s decision to supply water from Hirakud reservoir to industries.

"We too do not want to take a farmer’s share of water. Therefore, the company has planned to make its own arrangement in the plant premises", he said, adding that water harvesting was one of the key options the company would like to exercise.

However, a permanent solution would be using technology that requires least water for steel making and research was on for recycling the water in order to minimise the requirement.

Following is an excerpt from a report in New Indian Express.

Expressing satisfaction over the project’s progress, Mukherjee said the detailed project report (DPR) will be completed by June 2008. Though the rehabilitation and resettlement (R&R) package of the company has been finalised, it will be made public after transfer of land.

A high-level team from the company had finalised Patna tehsil as the site of the plant. Out of the 16, land acquisition is going ahead in 15 villages.

The company will soon open district office at Keonjhar. An ITI will be set up to train the youth of the area. Mobile health vans will also be pressed into service, he added.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Business Standard on this.

Arcelor-Mittal’s proposed Rs 40,000 crore, 12 million tonne per annum greenfield steel project in Orissa has made headway with the start of the land survey at the proposed site in Patna tehsil in the Keonjher district.

While the company has launched the survey in 16 villages in the area, it has completed the process in four villages. The company has also submitted a land acquisition plan to the state government.

Meanwhile, though the company has finalised a rehabilitation and resettlement (R&R) plan for the project-affected people, it is waiting for the land clearance from the state authorities to submit it to the government.

“We have our R & R proposal ready. Once the state government gives clearance of land, we will submit the proposal”, said Malay Mukherjee, member, group management board, Arcelor-Mittal.

Talking to mediapersons after a meeting on the progress of the project chaired by Chief Secretary Ajit Kumar Tripathy, Mukherjee said about 70% of the detailed project report (DPR) work for the Keonjhar plant is complete. The report is expected to be finalised by June 2008, he added.

M N Dastur & Company is preparing the DPR. The scope of the DPR, among other things, includes captive mining facilities, captive power supply, water supply and other infrastructure facilities like effluent disposal, environment and township for the company�s employees. …

While the company has got a coal block along with five other companies in Rampia and dipside Rampia, it is exploring the possibility of forging partnership with a mining company to source iron ore till it is allotted captive mines. It has recently applied for a joint partnership with the state- owned Orissa Mining Corporation (OMC) in this regard. …

While the total reserves in Rampia and dipside Rampia is estimated at about 600 million tonne, Arcelor-Mittal is expected to get about 85 million tonne.

Mukherjee said a 10-member team of Arcelor-Mittal is now finalising the technical specifications of the steel plant.

Following is an excerpt from Pioneer on this.

The State Government has decided on setting up of a Rs 120-crore sugar factory in the private sector in Koraput. With the availability of water from river Indravati and its tributaries, the sugarcane cultivation has been a big success in the blocks of Borrigumma, Kotpad and Jeypore in Koraput district and Nandahandi, Tentulikhunti, Nabarangpur and Kosagumuda blocks in Nabarangpur district. The cane is grown in about 8,000 hectares of land in the two districts per annum and over 3,000 trucks of sugarcane are produced. As there is no sugar factory in the region, farmers depend on the sugar factory at Balangir to sell their produce. Now, a sugar factory project, to be set up near Aunli in Koraput district by Indravati Sugar Company, has been cleared by the Government. The factory is expected to come up by the next crop season.

Following is an excerpt from a report in the Business Standard.

ICICI Group’s eastern regional hub for back office operations, coming up at Chandaka industrial estate in Bhubaneswar, will be commissioned in 2009. This is one of the four regional hubs planned by the group.

“We expect the first phase to be commissioned in the next 18 to 24 months,  and, hopefully, the hub will be commissioned by the summer of  2009,” K V Kamath, managing director and chief executive officer, ICICI Bank, said.

Talking to newsmen after the bhoomi pooja (ground breaking ceremony) for the proposed hub, Kamath said the second phase is scheduled to be commissioned a year later if every thing goes right.

He said the hub will have a built-up area of 1.25-1.5 million square feet in the first phase, and will accommodate about 15,000 people.

The group had earlier signed an MoU with Utkal University and KITT for offering skill-enabling and vocational courses in the domain of banking, finance and insurance.

Kamath said about 10,000-12,500 people will be employed in the Bhubaneswar hub in phases.

Following are some excerpts from that article.

… Bhubaneswar already ranks very high on the software exports frontwith Rs 732 crore completed in 2006-07, Bhubaneswar was 9th in the pecking order among Indian cities. Says Vishal Dev, director, IT, government of Orissa, “Till last year, we were the largest city in the whole of Eastern India on software exports, before being overtaken by Kolkata.” And, now have ambitious plans to reach $1,000 mn in software exports by 2012.

t is also one of the few cities in the country that boasts of the presence of the Big Four of Indian software exports. While Infosys and Satyam have been present in the city for quite some time and have 3,000 and 1,000 people respectively, TCS, after starting last year, has recruited 300 people. Wipro, too, has started campus construction. Add to this, Genpact, IBM Daksh, and ICICI, which are starting their eastern region BPO hubs, and it becomes obvious why Bhubaneswar today commands respect as an IT/BPO destination. The picture would not be complete without mentioning the arrival of MindTree Consulting, Aricent, Contiloe Films as well as Perfectus, which plan a 5,000 seater IT/BPO unit.

The arrival of these leading players also indicates how Bhubaneswar has come of age on both infrastructure as well as manpower fronts. The city today boasts of four SEZs: the earliest one, the 350 acre Infocity is already full; the first phase of the DLF Infopark work is in progress, work is starting on an integrated IT park, known as Knowledge Park, while sanction has been given to the Mancheswara Industrial Estate (29 acres).

Manpower
Such little details prove that while the IT juggernaut is in motion, Bhubaneswar is totally conscious of the need to develop a social infrastructure conducive to fostering IT. That explains why the state ranks high in terms of providing manpower supply; that with forty-five engineering colleges and forty-three MCA colleges, it could do so, is a no-brainer. But, while earlier this supply was mainly migrating elsewhere, it is now getting populated in Bhubaneswar itself.

That fact that technical education is a major priority of the state government has definitely helped. While engineering colleges affiliated to nine of the universities in the state were earlier brought and standardized under the aegis of the Biju Patnaik University, the government is now setting up an IIIT, where it will start with an M Tech program in order to create a crop of new qualified faculty. Also on the anvil are plans to start NISER and a campus of IIT Kharagpur. The Vedanta Group and Sri Sri Ravishankara Vidya Mandir Trust are also setting up technical colleges in the city.

Others in the Game
While the larger companies in the city registered an overall growth of 58% in 2006-07, SMEs like JSS witnessed 120% growth. JSS Consultancy is a domestic BPO playerit handles Citibank for the entire eastern region, as well as other major clients like Tata Indicom, HSBC, Citi Financial, HDFC Standard Life, and Centurion Bank for Orissa.

Its not only about the local SMEs; domestic IT consumption is also on the rise in the city. Reasons are not too far to locate: while Orissa today boasts of steel plants like Jindal, Bhushan, and Neelachal, very soon it will also have Posco, Arcelor-Mittal, and Tata Steel, making it probably the global steel hub. Add to this, power plants like the Jindals and aluminum plants like NALCO, Hindalco, and Sterlite. Paradip Port and the airport in Bhubaneswar are being modernized while the East Coast HQ is finally coming up next month.

Rajesh Dora, MD, Printlink, one of Bhubaneswars largest resellers and SIs, agrees to this. He also informs that other than the steel sector, even the engineering colleges and institutions like OUAT and Institute of Physics are significant consumers of IT.

The Future Sunrise

The experts, too, have endorsed a bright future for Bhubaneswar. According to McKinsey, Orissas economy is poised to grow at 7.1% over the next 10-12 years, the highest in Eastern India. Morgan Stanley comments that Orissa shall emerge as a center for metals business in India and attract investments of up to $3040 bn over the next five years. Even if these predictions are partially met, the impact of IT would be enough to create waves in the Bay of Bengal. The CMIEs forecast that Orissa accounted for 15% of total investments in hand in the country in 2006, and the World Bank ranking Bhubaneswar 5th among cities in ease of doing business within India further endorses the seal of approval. An oft-neglected, but very crucial role in this IT growth of the city has been played by the government. While on the e-Governance front, the state has won awards for two consecutive years (for the Shishu locator program and the OCAC website), a proactive government with an urbane and suave CM at the helm has created a conducive environment for IT. The stability of the political regime too has helped. A confident Naveen Patnaik proudly proclaims, “Bhubaneswar, indeed, is the future sunrise of the IT industry.”

New Indian Express reports on this.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Hindu. (Thanks to Deba Nayak for the pointer.)

… the poor people of the mineral-rich tribal population dominated district of Keonjhar are gearing up to welcome the Mittals and the tribe.

In a dramatic development, Kendujhar Nagarik Manch, the five-year-old district citizens’ forum, in its meeting on Friday resolved to host a symposium at the district headquarter on the need for industrialisation on December 2 to deliberate its benefits for the people of the district. “About 300 people including politicians, opinion makers, academicians, social activists and media persons would be attending it,” forum secretary Mr.Himansu Kuanr told The Hindu.

Industrialisation “We would welcome industrialisation with value addition,” he stated and added that the steel giants like the Mittal would be using the latest technology that would ensure minimum pollution. Sloppy land would be acquired for setting up of the plants and the packages being offered would also benefit the land losers, he said.

Some political parties are misguiding the people by spreading mis-information on the projects and thereby arresting development of the region through industrialisation, the forum’s spokesperson felt.

Mr.Kuanr further pointed out that in the past four years, minerals worth about Rs.36, 000 crore have been exported from the district without rendering any direct benefit to the people of the district. “As Haryana farmers have been amply benefited by industrialisation in and around Delhi, the farmers of the district would be similarly be benefited from industrialisation,” he reasoned.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Business Standard.

Mittal Steel India, which is in the process of readying its rehabilitation and resettlement (R&R) package for its 12 million tonne Orissa project, will consider issue of shares and land-for-land as part of its compensation to land-losers.

Sanak Mishra, chief executive officer, Mittal Steel India said, “The Orissa government’s R&R policy includes issue of shares as a means of compensation and if the people want it, we will do it. But that will happen at the implementation stage and we have to see the legal standpoint and the mechanism.”

Mittal Steel hopes to finalise the draft R&R package and make presentations to the Orissa government by month end. “If the Orissa government wants to incorporate something, we will look into it.”

The state government’s policy mentions convertible preference share as a compensation option. It says that at the option of the displaced family and subject to the provisions of relevant laws in force, the project authority could issue convertible preference shares or secured bonds up to a maximum of 50 per cent out of one-time cash assistance.

“There were also other physical issues being considered like alternative land for the displaced people. We will, however, have to assess how much land is required,” said Mishra.

… After finalising the scheme in consultation with the state government, Mittal Steel plans to embark on a communication programme with the land-losers.

The project site is a mix of government and private land. The 12 million steel plant at
Keonjhar would require around 8,000 acres, which includes 1,000 acres for the captive power plant and 1,000 acres for the township.

Mittal Steel is also in dialogue with the Orissa for iron ore mines. Various options are being explored, including arrangement with the Orissa Mining Corporation (OMC), a state-owned mining corporation.

“Talks are at an exploratory stage and it was too premature to talk about it. An arrangement with OMC could enable Mittal Steel to go through captive iron ore mine allocation process, which was one of the stumbling blocks for the company’s Jharkhand project,” Mishra added. Mittal Steel requires around 600 million tonnes of iron ore over a 30-year period for its steel plant.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Times of India about this.

… “We have received a proposal from Arcelor-Mittal, requesting for an arrangement with OMC,” confirmed a senior officer. “The government is exploring the possibilities and details remain to be worked out. It could mean a long term agreement or a joint venture between the two parties,” the officer told TOI. The government, sources said, has set up a four-member committee headed by chief secretary to examine the proposal’s feasibility and chalk out the draft terms and conditions.

Sources said Arcelor-Mittal is yet to submit any application for prospecting lease or mining lease for any iron ore deposits, but evidently does not want to take chances. Hence, it has proposed a tie-up with the state-owned body to serve as a back-up. “The company would no doubt go for captive mines. The pact with OMC would ensure an alternative raw material arrangement for the company’s project,” sources pointed out. Orissa has so far inked pacts for 46 steel facilities, sparking doubts over iron ore scarcity in future.

Arcelor-Mittal, which has signed an MoU with the state government to set up a 12 MTPA steel plant at an investment of Rs 40,000 crore, is the first major player to make this kind of a proposal. Some small steel units had earlier sought to enter into raw material supply agreements with OMC, apparently to ensure a steady flow of iron ore and offset price fluctuations. Some steel plants, which have reached production stage, are buying ore from the market at higher prices, sources disclosed.

Following is an excerpt from a report in myiris.com.

Adhunik Metaliks commissioned its state-of-art rolling mill at its steel facility at Kuarmunda near Rourkela, reports Business Standard.

The rolling will manufacture a wide range of rolled products which earlier had to be outsourced from third party rolling mills. The installation of the rolling mill is in line with the second phase of expansion of the company`s Orissa project.

The rolling mill will complete a vital link in the entire production value chain. It will enable the company graduate from a seller of intermediate product to finished steel.

Adhunik Metaliks will now be able to cater to the very discerning and quality conscious auto component and tier I customers from the automobile industry.

Business standard reports that Posco near Paradip in Orissa has received a major boost with people of two grampachayats, out of three panchayats affected by the project, writing to the district collector pledging their support to the project. Excerpts:

“For its steel project, Posco had sought 4,004 acres of land spreading over three panchayats — Nuagoan, Gada Kujanga and Dhinkia. Of the total land, 3,566 acres are government land while the remaining 438 acres are privately owned.

However, the company was unable to acquire land due to stiff opposition by the local people to the project even after lapse of two years of signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Orissa government in June 2005 and issue of 4/1 notification for land acquisition in May 2006.

The recent submission by the village committees of Nuagaon and Gada Kujanga to the Jagatsinghpur district collector, pledging their support to the project, has brightened up the prospect of its establishment, pointed out an official of the district administration.

The two panchayats account for 238 acres, out of 438 acres of private land slated to be acquired for the project. Similarly, of the 471 families likely to be displaced by the project, 275 families belong to these panchayats.

Further boosting up the company’s moral 40 betel vine owners, who are among the most affected villagers, have recently surrendered their betel vines and accepted compensation while 250-300 others are waiting to surrender their vines.

In their letters, the respective village committees have expressed their willingness to part with land for the project and offered their participation in the peripheral development work to be undertaken by the government, the sources added.

However, the Dhinkia panchayat, which is the nerve centre of anti-Posco movement, is yet to reconcile though fissures have appeared in stitching up a united front by the people of this panchayat against the company. Seventy-two families from Patna village under Dhinkia gram panchayat have offered their land to the project.

Similarly, the people of Gobindpur village under this gram panchayat pledged their support to the project in September 2007, and invited the district collector to visit them to discussion on land acquisition and compensation packages.

The growing support for the Posco plant was further demonstrated when over 5,000 people attended a rally and public meeting under the leadership of local MLA and senior BJD leader Damodar Rout at Balitutha, the entry point to the troubled site on November 1.

This was the first show of strength by the pro-project groups whose support to the project was often muted by the vocal and often violent opposition mounted the anti-project brigade in the area. To counter the pro-Posco rally, the project opponents had organised a demonstration just across the Balitutha bridge. However, they were hugely outnumbered with about 1,000 people participating in it.

But the leaders of the Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samiti (PPSS), spearheading the agitation against the proposed plant, are willing to accept defeat just on the basis of this headcount.

Most of the people who participated in the pro-Posco rally were outsiders who were transported to the venue by the ruling party, says Abhaya Sahoo, the president of PPSS.

“We will continue our fight and not allow the company to set up its plant here,” he added.“

This looks positive.
Just to summarize

• GadaKujang and Nuagaon are supporting the project.
• Some villages in Dhinkia Panchayat seem to be favouring POSCO like Patna village and Gobindpur village.
• 5000 people supported POSCO in the rally, but , 1000 went against it.
• 72 families from Patna village have already offered land.
• This was the first show of strength by the pro-project groups whose support to the project was often muted by the vocal and often violent opposition mounted the anti-project brigade in the area

Following is an excerpt from a  report in Tradingmarkets.com.

Tata Steel is likely to start the construction work of its greenfield steel project in Orissa within two months.

“We have got necessary clearances. Work to rehabilitate more than 1,200 families have been completed and now we are going to start the construction by the end of this year,” Tata Steel Kalinganagar project General Manager N A Ansari told PTI.

Tata Steel is seeking to increase the production of steel from 27 MT to 45 MT by 2015 and it will be achieved through greenfield projects, he said and pointed out, “Kalinganagar is the first such greenfield project undertaken by the company outside Jamshedpur.” Tata Steel is setting up a greenfield steel project in Kalinganagar, Orissa, to produce 6 MT of steel per annum and is investing Rs 18,000 crore in the project. The project is scheduled to be commissioned by mid-2009.

When asked whether there has been any delay in the project, he said, “We intend to go little faster, but there has been not much delay and these are usual things happens in any big project.

“We have already placed the order for more than Rs 5,800 crore worth of equipment and materials and all other things related to planning layout and estimates have already been done,” he said.

Speaking about the company’s investments in Orissa, he said, Orissa is one state where it has planned to invest more Rs 35,000 crore in various projects.

Economic Times reported

Ferro Alloys Corporation (FACOR) will invest about Rs 2,500 crore to set up a greenfield steel plant besides two power plants in Orissa.

With a cash outlay of Rs 2,500 crore, the group plans to set up a greenfield stainless steel plant in Orissa, a 45-MW captive coal-fired power plant and a 250-MW coal based independent power plant in Orissa,” CMD FACOR R K Saraf said here.